'So this is the biggest secret Bell has been hiding.'
Once Freya calmed down, she immediately understood. At the same time, she finally grasped why Bell had been so wary of her for such a long time.
'Memories of a past life… I don't know why, but Bell must know certain things about the future. That's why he was able to prepare in advance.'
Thinking it through now, this explanation neatly resolved the doubts Freya had carried for so long.
It had always felt as though Bell knew many things ahead of time, making preparations early and often staying one step ahead of everyone else.
Even so, Freya was certain that the boy's personality was not shaped solely by fragmented memories from his past life. However, there was no doubt that those memories allowed him to investigate many matters far more efficiently.
Freya let out a helpless sigh.
'Honestly, what did I even do in the future? To make Bell treat me with this level of caution.'
She understood her own temperament, and she knew very well the kinds of things she might do if she ever lost control. Still, the feeling was suffocating. It was as if her future self had caused trouble, and now her present self, completely in the dark, was left to shoulder the blame.
'But if we look at it from this angle…'
Freya's gaze, tinged with resentment, shifted toward Hestia, who was still wearing a stunned expression.
'If every choice Bell made was based on knowing the future, then his joining Hestia's familia was never an accident. It was a deliberate choice.'
To Freya, this point was crucial.
'Because he knew Hestia, and knew she was staying at Hephaestus's home, he volunteered to go to Hephaestus from the very beginning. That was simply to test whether Hestia had already descended to the Genkai.'
'If she had, he would find a chance to join Hestia's familia. If not, he would switch targets and join Hephaestus's familia instead.'
'He never considered me even once.'
That realization made Freya seethe.
Just what had she done in the future to make Bell so guarded against her, to the point that he rejected her from the very beginning?
And what Freya had figured out, Loki, Hephaestus, and Artemis had already realized as well.
Artemis was relatively unaffected. Her relationship with Hestia was the closest, and even knowing that Bell had chosen Hestia from the start didn't complicate her feelings much. After all, she hadn't even been in Orario at the time.
Loki and Hephaestus, on the other hand, both looked at Hestia with unmistakable envy.
They had always known Bell was hiding something. Bell had never gone out of his way to conceal that fact. But none of them had imagined that such an enormous secret lay behind it.
What frustrated them even more was the fact that Bell had chosen Hestia instead of them.
Sitting beside Hestia, Hephaestus felt as though her vinegar jar had shattered, a sharp sourness rising in her mouth.
"Hestia, you must be thrilled now."
"Eh???"
Hestia, still not quite caught up, looked at her close friend Hephaestus in confusion.
Seeing Hestia's clueless expression only made Hephaestus feel even more sour.
"Still haven't realized it?"
"If it's because Bell has memories of his past life, then when choosing a familia, he would naturally pick the one most suitable for himself. That's why he first came to my familia to volunteer. It was all just to check on you."
"That kid came to me purely to find you. Volunteering at my place was just a pretext."
Back then, there had been no real relationship between Bell and her. But now there was. Looking back on the past from her current position only made the bitterness more apparent.
And it was precisely because she was looking back from where she stood now that it became clear just how special Bell was to Hestia.
"Oh… right, right!"
Only then did Hestia slowly come to her senses after Hephaestus pointed it out.
If Bell knew the future, then the Bell she had met in Hephaestus's shop back then had come there specifically for her. Hehe… just thinking about it made Hestia feel a little giddy.
"So Bell chose me from the very beginning."
"With knowledge of the future, Bell knew that choosing me was the best option."
Those words instantly provoked the collective wrath of the gods.
Seriously, was this brat trying to sour everyone to death?
Now that they understood the truth, the gods couldn't help but feel jealous.
Especially knowing that this mysterious youth had chosen Hestia from the very start. It was like taking the best possible pick and deliberately handing it to the weakest familia.
"So then why?!" one dissatisfied god finally complained.
"He only came to the Genkai half a year ago and was still freeloading at Hephaestus's place. Why would a kid like that choose Hestia?!"
That was the question all of the gods wanted answered.
Why would a child who knew the future choose Hestia without hesitation? Did Hestia possess some hidden advantage they didn't know about?
It didn't seem likely.
If Hestia truly had some exceptional advantage, she wouldn't have ended up freeloading at Hephaestus's home more than a year ago.
What advantage did Hestia even have in the Genkai?
Because none of them could find an answer, the gods were even more baffled by why that child had chosen Hestia.
"What nonsense! Who says I don't have any advantages? My biggest advantage back then was having Hephaestus as my friend!"
Hestia bristled at their complaints. What did they mean she had no advantages? Her advantage was right there in Hephaestus.
"Hephaestus helped me a lot back then."
"When Bell joined my familia, the first person I went to for forging his weapons was Hephaestus."
"And later, when Bell was able to make rune stones, it was Hephaestus who helped him by providing a great channel."
"And even when we bought the house, Hephaestus helped with that."
"Think about it carefully. Where exactly am I lacking in advantages?"
Hestia's reasoning made perfect sense.
Unfortunately, it also made Hephaestus absolutely furious.